


they meddle, they suffer.

by nyunyu



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Hyuuga Hinata, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Self-Insert, Someone Help Her, empty head oc, oc is terrified, she has her moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyunyu/pseuds/nyunyu
Summary: Seiren was a literal child when she became involved.It was all on her.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Original Female Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s), Hyuuga Hinata & Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Shisui & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 48
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1

“ _Man,_ ” Seiren mentally whined, as she happened to stumble on the Hyuuga heiress cowering under civvie kids of all people. 

It didn’t help that she didn’t exactly watch the series. She watched clips and read enough fanfictions to get a grasp on it, so it was all _her_ fault. Did the kidnapping thing happen already? And should she wait until Naruto came upon the scene in his venturous glory? And yes, she knew this was one of those canon scenes due to the amount of fans talking about it. She couldn’t help but watch it herself, it was sort of all over one of her favorite social media platforms after all.

She clicked her tongue, glancing everywhere but the scene, to see if a flash of blonde would come and do his thing. Clicking her tongue again because, _what_ took him so long?

Wait.

Wasn’t Naruto supposed to be nearby? She swore he should’ve been sitting on a swing _literally_ in close proximity. Did she somehow land in a parallel universe? That had to be it. She had long believed anything was possible the moment she realized she was _stuck_ in a fictional world. 

“Huh,” She said out loud this time, staring at her hand that went flying across one of the bullies’ faces. He was on the ground now, grabbing his face, a whimpering mess.

“ _Who_ are you!?” One of them demanded, pointing their stupid finger at her.

“Be grateful that I stopped you, you little shit.” She ignored their squawks of anger about them being older or something, she carried forward with her short-term speech. “She came from one of our respective Shinobi Clans and is the apparent heiress. What if her family found out about your _stupid_ wrongdoings?”

One of them actually stuck their tongue out and she _hissed_ at them. Her face must’ve looked kinda terrifying, they stepped back in shock over the display.

“Don’t be surprised if you found any of your family members gone by tomorrow morning.”

The oldest one understood the implied. “T-they can’t do that!” They yelped, eager to look for an escape as they scanned the area all around like mad. 

She shrugged. “By law? No. But they probably got something up their sleeves if they discovered that their treasured heiress got called a _monster_ because some ignorant kids thought it’d be a great idea to insult her eyes.” She watched as Hinata took her hand, all shy and trembly. “The eyes that they _all_ have.” She amplified, and it sure as hell spooked all of them. 

“R-run!” And they bolted at a lightning speed. 

“A-ano…” She glanced at Hinata, who was still holding her hand. Unconsciously, it seemed, as she gasped when she looked down. Unchaining it so fast.

“You went out by yourself?” 

Hinata bit her lip.

“Lead the way, I’ll take you home.”

“N-no!”

Seiren tilted her head. “No?” 

Antsily, Hinata fiddled with her hands. She peeked through her lashes at Seiren, hesitant and downright ambiguous. Her face all blotchy and miserable.

“Um,”

“What happened?” Was all she asked, and Hinata broke down crying again. Shit, what if someone misunderstood and took her as The Bully instead? 

She was all ears when Hinata elaborated the source of her sorrow. Ah, so she just happened to sneak out from the orphanage during the day of Hizashi’s death then? Awesome. 

“Well, they’re probably looking for you right now. You should go home,”

“Umm,”

“What.”

She almost had a heart attack when Hinata reached out for her hand, clasping it in her own. Seiren didn’t think she would be _this_ bold.

“No, wait, why do I have to take you there? Pretty sure you know the way to your residence.”

“Hyuuga-hime?” She tried, watching as she was slowly getting dragged on the road to the compound. ‘ _The_ **_Hyuuga_ ** _compound!_ ’ Her innermost self shrieked, absolutely fucking petrified by the outcome.

“Talk,” She encouraged Hinata who began to quiver, again. 

They were standing across the entrance now, and Seiren wanted nothing to do than run the fuck away. If only the vice-grip clutch on her hand would let her go. Oh Kami, with those all-seeing eyes she was sure there were a few Clan members who already saw her.

“C-can I talk to you again?” 

_No_.

“No,” She articulated, and Hinata flinched at that. “You can’t play by yourself and I’m not sure if I want to go to the Academy either—”

“You should!” _Wow._

“—no way there’s a chance of us interacting,”

She bowed before Hinata— and oh shit, that’s gotta be Hiashi advancing toward them.

“It was nice to meet you, Hyuuga-hime.”

* * *

‘ _Man,_ ’ Seiren, once again, mentally whined. 

It was four days after her mini episode with Hinata, and now she just _had_ to shift her head and looked above.

She locked gazes with the Hokage rock, staring at what seemed to be the head of a certain figure she didn’t recognize, spiky long hair. It was planted right beside the first one, which she was fortunately familiar with.

That… that couldn’t be Madara. But what if it was? The mountain was all different on the whole, well _not_ whole, no, that was definitely Minato on the latest spot. So the fight-to-death between Hashirama and Madara never happened— but, what if that was a long haired Izuna? A chill ran down her spine then, _fuck_. This would be difficult. 

A day had passed, and she found out that it was indeed Madara. She had a long way to catch up on Konoha history. Not that she actually cared, but it would help her along the way. 

It turned out to be far more complex than she thought it was. Three days later, she saw Naruto and a _red_ haired woman, hand in hand. She observed as the villagers gave them a respectful distance, though not before bowing decorously. 

She was on the verge of tears now. 

“H-hey!” Someone greeted, ultimately saving her from crumbling on the ground. 

She turned her head to find—

She would like to hang herself now. 

Hinata was there, mouth gaping a little. She looked as if she _couldn’t_ believe it. She probably thought Seiren was a fever dream or something.

And Seiren, she just wanted Hinata to forget her existence altogether. 

Now, running away would be disrespectful as fuck. Hinata’s two (there’s _two_ of them?) caretakers were judging her now, she wished she could raise her middle fingers at them. She knew she was just an insignificant bug to them. Hailing from the orphanage, no clan heritage, no affiliation with any of the Konoha Clans either. She might as well be a dirt beneath their shoes. 

What she had, however…

She smiled, all sugary and polite. Not too forced, just a necessary amount of solicitude. “Hyuuga-hime,” She addressed, amiable enough to bow toward the branch members. 

She was about to leave— yes, _leave_ , because she thought their second (last) encounter would only turn out as a short greeting. 

“I… don’t know your n-name,” 

She repressed a twitch on her forehead. 

“It’s Seiren, Hime.” Hinata beamed at her.

Seiren was _frightened_ now. 

“L-last name?” Seiren shook her head, still smiling her charming smile.

Peace out, what she wanted to say. “Have a good day, Hime.” Was what she settled with.

“When could I s-see you again?”

Her smile morphed into that of the Goddess of Pacifism, emitting such positivity that Itachi would’ve been her number one follower. Soft and utterly demure, so kind and _angelic._ She wanted to vomit.

“I wonder,” She flashed her another smile with a bow as her final act, and left before Hinata could open her mouth. 

* * *

“She _what,_ ” She expressed, with _Hyuuga Hiashi_ sitting gracefully across from her. She had to sip on a tea exclusively served for _her_ , a mere humble civilian. 

She wondered how it led to this. One day, at one particular night, the orphanage matron summoned her, presenting her a valuable— fuck that, overpriced sounded more accurate, all white formal kimono. ‘ _Hyuuga-sama was compassionate,_ ’ The matron spoke, and that’s all she needed to know.

“As I said, she has been training more ever since—”

She didn’t even _care_ that she was interrupting. “All so she could play with **_me_**?” She was dumbfounded now, and she only managed to provide apologies 20 seconds later. 

“As the heir, she must _not_ be left alone in her own device. Playing outside by herself would leave her vulnerable,” _And we’ve learned the hard way_ , was left unspoken. “She specifically wished to train. It’s a good change,” He finished.

“...at what cost?” She exclaimed in a lowered tone.

“The Academy—”

“ _Oh no,_ ”

He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see why you would be so opposed to it. The Hokage is considerate enough when it comes to orphans, as the Academy is tuition-free for them. Most are welcomed if they desired to choose this career path,”

“I don’t _wish_ to become one.”

“That, you don’t have to. Not everyone could make it. Though I suppose your presence would make her improve, both in physical training and social skills.”

She took a sip of the tea. It was scalding hot, numbing her tongue.

“And where is she now?”

* * *

“Huh?” She stared at a ball of felicity that was Uzumaki— Namikaze Naruto, she corrected herself. He was too flashy for her liking that she felt the need to give a quick visit at the nearest optical clinic. 

“I said, Sasuke-teme wants to talk to you, ttebayo!” He chirped, voice loud enough to make everyone glance at their way. “He’s too shy—”

“ _Naruto!_ ” The aforementioned yelled.

“You can’t even say hi—”

“—I don’t even want—”

“—yeah _sure_ , you—”

She took one look at Sasuke, a blushing mess, and heaved a hefty sigh.

“Would you like to sit here?” She called out to him, and he responded with a tinge of crimson unveiled on his ears, not that she could see it. 

Naruto turned hysteric, bursting into laughter and _literally_ on the floor. 

Exactly three days later, Uchiha Shisui— and with a name like that, she truly pitied him. Was Danzo even still alive? She hoped not, the old man caused so much trouble. Regardless, Shisui invaded her personal space, literally. Occasionally sneaking a glance at little Sasuke who told him to fuck off (in a PG way).

“So this is the one,” Shisui teased. 

Sasuke’s ears were boiling now.

“Leave!” Sasuke yelled.

“So rude, Sasuke-chan. You don’t even want to introduce your girlfriend—”

“She’s not—”

“The way I look at it, he’s more like a little brother to me.” And apparently, that had been the wrong answer. Sasuke gaped at her, thoroughly insulted, before leaving her alone with Shisui. He dragged his brother’s hand and she _swore_ she saw him tearing up, and now she felt bad. 

“Mean,” He chided her, wiggled eyebrows and a grin so wide she wanted to punt him across the mountain. 

They’re still standing at the Academy entrance, and she tilted her head. Hands on her waist, studying him. 

“You think I should’ve lied?”

“You could’ve been more kinder about it.” He smirked.

“Care to pass an example?”

He clasped his hands together. “ _Yes, Sasuke-kun is my boyfriend!_ ” He cried out, to which she sneered, the gleam in his eyes ripened. 

She snickered. “Someone close by might’ve heard that, on their way to spread it all over the village by now.” Instead of blanching at that very thought, he raised an eyebrow.

“I know you _know_ everyone else already went home,” She narrowed her eyes. Grasped on the implied. “With a few teachers as the exception, that is.”

“You think so highly of me,” She jested. 

“With your remarkable chakra sensing—”

“—a bit more than average. That’s all,”

“—and that you’ve beaten Sasuke-chan many times in a spar. _Wow_ , so impressive.”

“Please leave me alone.”

And he did leave her, well, not before grilling her until she wanted nothing more than to cut her ears off. His questions were never direct, circulated around almost carefully. Much to her shock, he went over a damn _review_ of her skillset. Fuck, she had been careless. Of course someone was bound to look in her direction. Though in Shisui’s case, it passed as spying. 

She thought of filing a report with the police but if she speculated it further, _he_ was kind of the police himself, or not. He’s an Uchiha, so it wouldn’t matter. What if she was the one who would get locked up behind the bars instead? 

She lifted her head to gaze at the sky. The superb orangeness worsened her mood. 

* * *

She thought it was hilarious that of all people, Sakura was the one she liked to spend her time with. No offense to Hinata, she loved that girl, but one day Sakura came up to her and started accusing her of stealing Sasuke from her and she found it extremely amusing.

She let the girl put all her words together. The delivery of her ear-splitting rant almost made her want to jab a kunai in her gut. She waited until Sakura paused in the midst of her discourse, clearly hating the lack of response.

“You wanna know what I think about it?” She asked. 

“Yeah?” Sakura retorted, glaring daggers at her.

“I think you should put men— or boys, aside for now.”

“What?” She spluttered.

“I’m sitting next to you tomorrow.”

“ _What!?_ ”

True to her words, they sat next to each other, with Hinata claiming her place beside her. Man, Ino was gawking at them. She puffed a sigh, these two should just make up already. 

Sakura was validly suspicious with her. As expected. 

For the first few minutes, at least. 

It began with Sakura explaining how she took care of her hair. She did like her long hair and she wanted to keep it that way, but she found it annoying for the meantime. The history behind it was predictable, Seiren couldn’t suppress a chuckle. 

“Whoever created that rumor was sick.” She declared.

Sakura blinked.

“Rumor?”

“Silly, he would’ve had a crush on most girls within this whole building if long hair was the case.”

It had been the last class of the day, and her words shut Sakura up for the rest of the period.

* * *

Simply put, Seiren thought her skills were relatively good. She found herself trying to keep up — she had other plans and _none_ of them were ninja-related — and she tried, hard. Nevertheless, she was interested in business and fashion more. She listened to Sakura’s ramblings and advises a lot. 

Although, the moment she landed a hit on Shisui made her go ‘ _huh_ ’, and she ran away before she knew it. 

It sort of… frightened her. She was troubled now, staring at her own hand pinning Sasuke down on the back of his neck, followed by the teacher declaring her as the winner. She knew the boy had been demanding a few grown figures in his life to train him, since Fugaku was too _busy_ to spare him time, and Itachi was a literal ghost one of these days.

(Wasn’t Mikoto a retired jounin? She would’ve teached Sasuke a thing or two had he asked.)

Was this… okay? If she just, one day stopped with this ninja business, there’s a high chance she would get herself killed (not that being a shinobi stopped that from happening. More like you _tend_ to die when you chose this path.).

Seiren was 7 when she stopped being in denial and found herself seeking for more. 

Seiren was 8 when the Yondaime summoned her. 

Minato sent her a smile before he opened his mouth with this, “Tell me, what do you think of early graduation?” And he watched as she processed and digested his words.

She fainted. 


	2. Chapter 2

“You’re joking,” Seiren conveyed, loud and clear on the training ground. 

She examined her master— _ew_ , teacher? Or mentor, yeah, definitely that. With a mischievous glint on display and a grin so vivid, she decided today would be the perfect day to thrust a kunai into her brain, ending it all the way. 

“No no no,” Shisui protested, swinging a point finger as a form of disapproval. “That’s not how you greet your high-ranking senior. Or, to put it bluntly, your Jounin-sensei,”

“I’d like to resign now.”

“Don’t be like that!” He caressed his chest, false chagrin laid bare all over his frame. “Now you’re just plain _rude_ ,”

“As you said earlier, why would Hokage-sama assign a _high-ranking senior_ ,” As she exaggerated the disdain in her tone, to which he replied with a dramatic gasp. “—to teach some early graduate with an ordinary background?”

“Stop demeaning yourself!” He exclaimed, eyes all wide and disgustingly innocent. “You’re the only early graduate in your year. Something to be proud of, so be positive—”

“—and I’m all about negativity now,” She rolled her eyes, fingers brushing against her kunai pouch. He grimaced, it evoked the lovely flashback of him getting caught off guard by her attack, the _crunch_ she left on his ribs through a kick should’ve been illegal. 

(It served as an additional motivation to train until he couldn’t move a limb.

  
  


He completely ignored his cousin’s presence on the sideline.)

“To tell you the truth,” He cocked his head. “I had to fight for this position.”

“Say what,” His eyes travelled toward her clenched fists. 

“As you concluded earlier, The Uchiha Elders weren’t happy.” She suppressed a wince, finger toying on her pouch. “They thought I shouldn’t waste my time. To top it all off, I'm teaching a non-Uchiha.” And this time, his smile was sincere. 

“You could picture the conjuncture yourself. It was… messy.” 

“I say I agree with their argument,” A sigh came out strong, solid and filled with weariness. 

He shook his head, a twinkle of mirth came back to life. She glared, all jagged and downright poisonous. “Well?” He spoke, grinning ear to ear. 

“Continue,” He added, encouraging— no, challenging her.

“They sound annoying,” He didn’t even blink at the blatant insult. “But it’s logical. Their attention may be directed to the heir consistently, but you _matter_. It’s only natural they want the best for you.”

He tapped a finger twice on his thigh to make her proceed with her talk.

“I’m sure everyone— or people who bother to keep up with the news, have heard of your accomplishments,” The sparkles in his eyes intensified. “I think you’re better off thriving in the field.” 

He ran a hand through his hair, a dry chuckle shook his build. “There were times where I thought it was strange that I’m still standing here, breathing, not dead.”

‘ _Yet,_ ’ Her mind offered a _sick_ , humorous reply.

“I find comfort outside the border,” He turned his gaze on his calloused palms, what transpired in his mind remained concealed. “Anywhere, far away from _their_ prying fingers, I’ll take it.”

His lips curved into a small smile, almost imperceptible.

“It’s suffocating, you know, with all eyes on you and too much expectation. I can’t even afford to slip up without imagining their disappointment.” He chuckled, turning his head to stare at the edge of the training ground. “The standard is pretty high these days,”

“Well, this is _bleak_.” Was all she offered after his mini melancholic story of life, he looked offended now. 

He changed the pitch of his tone. “ _That’s so sad, Shisui-senpai. I can totally relate to that._ ” And he almost managed to sound like a schoolgirl. “Was the correct response, Seiren-chan.”

“So why this topic?” She asked, she truly wanted to go home now. 

“I don’t feel safe in any place, Seiren-chan.” He confessed, tilting his head. “And I see potential in you, obviously, so while I should’ve probably stayed back in my old squad—” Her eyebrows elevated at that. She didn’t think he would mention... _that_. “—and kept going on suicidal missions, I want to see you reach your _full_ potential. The best part is, this is more like a vacation to me. The only downside being having to stay often. Which means there’s no way I could avoid Clan meetings—”

She scratched her left cheek. “Aren’t you talking too much here? I thought we shouldn’t run our mouth around and spill everything here and there,”

“What, you’re going to tell my clansmen now?”

“Are we not going to start training now?”

“ _Now_ you want to train when you were complaining about my very presence 10 minutes earlier?”

She gave out a sigh, before sitting on the ground. “Why are you so interested in me anyway?”

“I don’t like the way you phrased it,” 

“What,” She giggled, her smirk sent a shiver down his spine. “You're thinking about something else?”

“ _Stop_ ,” He cried out. 

He sat down across from her.

“It started when Sasuke-chan turned red— oh man, you should’ve seen it. It was after Mikoto-san asked him if he had someone he liked,” 

“Shit, his _mother_ knows about my existence?”

The glee on every inch of his body, from the bottom to the top, made her want to tug on her hair until it all fell off.

“Oh, she obviously keeps an eye on you.”

She teared up. 

* * *

Man, she fucked up real bad. Apparently Shisui’s main interest was, well, because he found her absolutely odd. 

‘ _You tried to_ ** _hide_** _it,_ ’ He told her. ‘ _I’m not sure if it’s possible. A kid who hides their intelligence— and from what? Weird,_ ’

His words lived rent free in her mind. 

While she did attempt to bury it below the surface, she wasn’t _good_ enough. A few slip ups left and right, always under surveillance, always monitored. 

It took 7 months before she just… gave up. 

She was advanced. All because she had years of advantage. She started speaking more, training more— and man, she didn’t even know she would be good at taijutsu. Weird as hell, considering she was so fragile in her past life— fuck, she remembered when she couldn’t even hit a volleyball pass the net because the strength she put under that throw was equal to that of a kitten trying to tackle a grown adult. 

(She had teachers who were always willing to help her, she always did. She found it odd, and she mindlessly brushed it off. 

  
  


It dawned on her after 2 years of her problematic career that Minato played a part in it.)

* * *

She should’ve _known_ something was off when she remained a Genin for 4 years straight. It was so fucking obvious, she was just _dumb_. 

It didn’t matter that she took more missions— even the risky ones, than the average Genin. She endured Shisui’s hellish training (and he teached her _body flicker!_ awesome.), almost got killed many times and somehow survived? An Iwa _Jounin_ almost jabbed her inner thigh— and she winced at the memory.

All in all, she should’ve noticed the apparent fact that, _of course_ the Hokage would want her to take the Chunin Exams along with everyone in her age range, for some unspecified reason. What’s the point of making her graduate early if she had to wait for years to rank up? 

Shisui unfolded it with this. “A word got out that I took a student,” He shrugged, sipping on his tea. “Pretty sure I’ve got a myriad of enemies. Hokage-sama thought it would be a wise idea to wait until it’s our time to host one.”

“He literally sends us both on a mission all the time.”

“You’re always with me,”

“...that makes sense, but it doesn’t make sense.”

“Don’t worry about it,” He chirped, and she was fucking skeptical. She _knew_ there was something else.

“Spill.”

Shisui sighed.

“The Uchiha Elders thought it was too dangerous.”

She blinked. “What does that have to do—”

“—and you have to stay there for like, a month or two in a foreign village—”

“—wait, stop. Why me? Don’t you mean _us_?”

“They certainly think I’m competent enough to keep my eyes in my pocket and return with my body intact. You, despite your talent, they’re concerned—”

“—and why the hell would they care?” She pressed, pointed her chopsticks at him. “I’m not even an Uchiha.” Then she stabbed her takoyaki, shoving it in her mouth.

His response was a prolonged silence, and she froze.

“They can’t be serious.” Her face turned pale— white, a shade of green surfaced 3 seconds later.

“Uchiha Seiren sounds kinda nice,”

“ ** _THEY’RE DISCUSSING ABOUT ME AND MY FUTURE?_ **” She screamed, it was a good thing there were only a few customers, she hoped none of them were nosy. She muttered apologies, before lowering her tone.

“What the fuck,” She whispered, and he snorted. “Wait, I thought your clan only does inter-marriage or something.”

“Repeatedly? Yeah. They don’t mind anyone marrying into the clan as long as they’re civilians though, or shinobi with a civilian background, whatever.”

“What? Do they _not_ like having an ally?”

“That would be nice. But… there would be endless arguments from both sides. Each clans have secrets of their own, and The Uchiha wouldn’t want any of their kind to join the other due to dōjutsu stuff. There’s also an issue with last names. It’s complicated,”

She put the chopsticks down. “I hope you know we will _never_ be family.” 

Shisui gasped.

“No offense, your clan is great and all, but too strict. Bunch of conservatives. And I don’t even like your cousin that way,”

“But we’re not _that_ bad, Seiren-chan.”

She scoffed. “And why would they agree with Sasuke marrying a non-elite anyway?”

“You do know he’s not the heir right? Unless we’re talking about Itachi here, they definitely want a matriarch-like woman as his significant other. Preferably one of their own.”

Another round of extended silence occurred between them.

“I feel kinda bad for that guy,” She offered.

“Yeah,”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


“This diet thing isn’t working at all.” Seiren firmly declared, eyeing a ball of pink in its pitiful state, and that ball glared at her for telling the truth. If she squinted, she would probably be able to spot a numerous amount of invisible kunai thrown her way. 

Sakura held her stomach. “Shut up.”

“It’s literally a civilian trend,” Seiren pointed out. “You’re a shinobi. You move more, you eat more. Which part do you _not_ understand?”

“Ino-pig—”

“—can do whatever she wants,” She grabbed Sakura’s hand to help her up. “ _You_ don’t have to follow her.”

“ _Follow?_ ” Sakura spat, she got into a fighting stance again. “We’re challenging each other!”

“You’re hurting yourself,” Seiren rolled her eyes. Her leg went flying to strike Sakura’s right ankle from the side, causing the miserable figure to lose balance, curling into a ball on the solid ground, _again_. 

“You’re already skinny and you feel the need to lose weight for some petty competition?”

Sakura clicked her tongue. “Petty?”

“Yes, _petty_ , stop denying it.” And her head tilted, a mocking smile on full display.

“Maybe if you trained more you wouldn’t have to worry about gaining weight.”

And that did it. She easily caught Sakura’s wrist before her fist could land on her face. 

“Come on,” Seiren taunted, gripping Sakura’s small wrist harder to make the poor girl groan. With a sheer amount of unbelievable force which made Seiren wonder where it hailed from (she forgot that this was _the_ girl who despite not being as strong as her ridiculously overpowered teammates, she managed to surpass a Clan member, a _Sannin_ at that.), Sakura freed her hand to punch Seiren straight in the gut.

It didn’t faze Seiren as much as Sakura wanted, much to her dismay. Seiren responded by pummeling Sakura’s left shoulder, forcing the girl to step back before she gained composure. 

They went about 30 minutes. It ended with Sakura laying on her back, staring at the late afternoon sky.

“You held back.”

“What, you _sure_ you want to see me going all out?”

“No. But it’s pissing me off,” Sakura raised her hand, clutching at nothing, as if she wanted to forcefully grab— _own_ the out-of-reach sky in her palm. “I know you’re much more experienced. But we're the _same_ age. It’s embarrassing that I’m not even close to your level yet.”

Seiren blared out a laugh. 

“You’ll get there one day.”

* * *

“No fucking way.” Seiren told Shisui when he broke The News to her.

“It’s a family dinner. You’ll manage,” He dismissed her fear. 

“Do you even—” She grabbed her hair, tugging it harshly. “Your _entire_ clan is terrifying,”

“Like I said, you’re not even going to meet with every single one of us, for now," She gasped. "Hey, I even told Mikoto-san about your favorite food. Who knows what she would do if you didn’t come.”

“ **FUCK YOU.** ” She cried out.

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I want a new mentor. Give me a new one please.” 

“ _Oi_ , stop hurting my feelings.”

The last thing she wanted in the near future was creating a different version of Sarada— man, she had to tell Sakura about this as an encouragement to pursue Sasuke more. Or not her, she didn’t exactly want Sakura’s ending to turn out similarly like her canon counterpart. Maybe she should visit the Yamanaka Flowers instead. Yeah, give that role to Ino. Best of luck for the blonde. 

“And you’re telling me after all these years, Sasuke is still crushing on me?”

“Never underestimate The Uchiha with our infatuation, Seiren-chan.” As if that wasn’t bad enough, he added this. “We’re quite… devoted.”

She groaned in absolute horror.

Tears still flowing down, she said this with an optimistic smile. “ _Wow_ , can’t wait to get older and find someone just to rub it all in their face.”

“So mean!” He pouted. “And hey, unless they have my permission, no dating for you.”

“It feels nice to finally have a mother figure.”

She could barely dodge the shuriken.

She rubbed her chest to soothe the unsteady rhythm of her heartbeat. “I hate you,” She professed, reaching for a senbon hidden within her hair. 

“Yeah yeah, I’ll deliver the kimono later.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit.... hm.
> 
> different.
> 
> just a bit.

“Uchiha-sama, I’m honored to have received your invitations.”

Seiren wore an extravagant dark royal blue kimono with a burgundy obi, and she thought they might as well establish the clan symbol on the back because, what the fuck, why did she fit in so well? Her distress got so much worse when she realized she was born with black hair, though she’s glad her eyes were indigo-ish. She hoped her parents — that she hadn’t been able to meet — were having a good day in the afterlife. 

Mikoto was _dissecting_ her. She was forced to bear the matriarch's examination until she discovered what she wanted to see, and satisfied by her own speculation. Her countenance made Seiren shrink internally. She was intimidating, yet the delicate visage wasn’t insincere either. She was both of those things.

“Mikoto-san,” Mikoto corrected, her smile was demure, casting such charisma Seiren thought the woman could pass as the fucking deity. 

She submerged the itch to display a scowl. She tried her best, she really did, but once she fixed her gaze on Shisui’s stupid face — the very bane of her existence — looming behind Mikoto with his stupid delighted grin, he ruined it for her. 

“Mikoto-san?” She asked once they were on the road to the dining table.

“Yes dear?”

She pointed at Shisui who wouldn’t stop smirking. “It would be nice if we get rid of him,”

“ _Oi!_ ” 

Mikoto covered her mouth, giggling mildly. “Your patience is remarkable. To think you’ve managed to put up with him all these years,”

“You’re supposed to be on _my_ side auntie.”

“Is that so?” Mikoto countered. 

“ _Auntie_.” 

And there _they_ were— oh no, with multiple eyes all set on her very being, she refrained herself from tainting the wooden floor with her majestic vomit. 

Clasping her fingertips together, she bent forward. “Pardon my intrusion.” She provided, her palms all clammy when she straightened her back.

“Intrusion?” Mikoto asked, setting her hand on Seiren’s shoulder. “You certainly are welcomed here,”

That was… positively spine-chilling.

Her foul mood developed into a whole new level when she noticed it. It wasn’t anything flashy, but palpable enough if one squinted.

She and Sasuke were matching. 

_Almost_ , she blew out the longest sigh inwardly. While they wore the exact shade of blue, there were differences on Sasuke’s garment and _none_ of it were red — the uchiwa being an exception — and it put her to ease.

The rest still wore midnight blue though. Fuck them all. 

“Seiren.” Sasuke greeted, and his hair had gotten pretty long— and holy shit did he look like Izuna. _Homogenous fuckers_ , she shrieked to herself. Her empath side cried as a sudden reminder of Itachi’s disease flashed through her mind— and was it ever explained how he got it? Inbreeding had to be the source and she _disregarded_ all the other possibilities.

She nodded, ignoring his heavy gaze. “It’s been a while,” And of course, he motioned for her to take a seat beside him. 

“So strained!” Shisui commented noisily, leading his feet to claim a seat— great, now she’s trapped in the middle. “Just talk like you used to back in the Academy,” He rebuked, teasing and _thrilled_ by the sheer amount of awkwardness. 

“Mikoto-san, please.” She begged as polite as she could, narrowing her eyes at Shisui. 

“We’ve done it before,” Mikoto sat down beside— oh Kami, Seiren and Fugaku’s eyes were locked for a split second before she nodded, averting her gaze on the appetizing gyoza near her. “He always managed to barge in.”

Itachi’s mouth curved into a faint smirk at Shisui’s display of heartache. 

“That’s terrible,”

“ _Stop it._ ” Shisui begged. 

“I suggest you should tighten up the security.” Shisui gasped, betrayal all over his face. “His habits are unacceptable,” 

And oh, Sasuke was enjoying this. It was satisfying to see Shisui being cornered— _bullied_ , verbally. 

“You don’t tell someone to banish their precious relative, Seiren-chan.” He scolded.

“Perhaps if you stopped being so bothersome everyone would change their perspective.”

The banter lasted for 10 minutes, and she wondered what went through their mind as a VIP witnesses of their meaningless exchanges. 

“You two are close,” Itachi noted, reaching for a miso soup. 

Seiren smiled. 

“I was forced— my apologies, I suppose when you’re _stuck_ with someone for years, it’s only natural.”

“Are you done?” Shisui fussed, stealing one of her gyoza and ate it. 

Murder was the only option. 

“Shisui,” Mikoto sent him a look, and he pouted.

“Don’t worry, Mikoto-san. I’m used to his childish antics,” She voiced, accepting a plate of takoyaki from Sasuke— Mikoto really went all out, she respected the woman even though she would never approve of the undisclosed intention behind it. 

And it went... puzzlingly well. She thought Fugaku would insult her at some point but he remained silent throughout the whole thing. She wouldn’t be surprised if Mikoto ordered him to shut up, that would make sense. 

Now she was hanging out in the backyard with Sasuke on her left. Gazing at the koi pond, exchanging small talk. It was difficult to avoid mentioning anything ninja-related, that was the only thing that kept the conversation going after all. 

“So, how’s being a part of Team Seven so far?”

She raised an eyebrow when he frowned.

“It’s... okay,” 

“Hm?”

He threw a pebble into the pond. “I guess they could be _tolerable_ sometimes.”

“I thought you get along with Naruto?”

“He’s loud but I’m used to it.” And then he faced her. “It’s Sakura and Kakashi.”

Huh.

“What about them?”

He clicked his tongue. “I don’t know what his problem is, but if he doesn’t want to teach, then he _shouldn’t_.” He threw another pebble, fiercer than ever.

That was... huh, she didn’t see that coming. The canon Hatake Kakashi was never truly a good teacher (Sakura being the victim of his negligence), and while she couldn’t blame the man for being hopeless, he _did_ pay attention to Sasuke the most, even went as far as to teach the boy his own creation. So, yeah, what was his problem?

(She couldn’t wait to see this version of him.)

“Sakura is okay, but she has her... moments.” He sneaked a glance at her, she narrowed her eyes.

“Say it,” 

“I don’t want to offend you.”

She puffed out a sigh. “It’s fine, Sasuke. I won’t get mad,”

It took him a while to open his mouth.

“She stares a lot, sometimes it makes me uncomfortable.”

‘ _That’s exactly how I feel everytime you do it,_ ’ Was the first thing that came to her mind. 

“I’ll talk to her. Though if it’s any consolation, it’s a teenage crush. She’ll get over it,” _Or not_ , as she thought of canon Sakura. “There will be times where you’ll bond with each other, relying on one another. A good team.”

She smiled.

(It’s a pity she couldn’t see the tinge of red draped about his ears, enveloped within his hair.)

“It won’t hurt to give them a chance.”

* * *

  
  
“Open the door.” Seiren demanded, knocking on Sakura’s bedroom door— she was _this_ close to snap. 

“Leave.”

“Let me in or I’ll break your door,”

“Go away!”

“You—” She leaned her forehead against the door. “—don’t get it, I _couldn’t_ refuse and you know why. I’m not trying to steal your position—”

Seiren almost lost her balance when Sakura abruptly opened it. 

“What position—” Sakura’s eyes were bloodshot, tears spilled swiftly. “—when I was never a choice?” She choked out a laugh, her build shook at the force of her anguish. 

It _stung_ , it really did. She imagined she would deal with it by pushing all of her mental maturity forward, putting some sense into Sakura’s tiny brain through a fist to the cheek.

Her conception emerged into something else entirely, it even startled herself. 

“Shut up.” Seiren muttered, her tone was so low Sakura wasn’t able to catch it.

“What?”

“I _said_ , shut up!” She shoved Sakura back in, shutting the door close with a _bang_. “You— I told you, you shouldn’t—” Sakura was caught off guard by the tears flowing down Seiren’s eyes. “Why do you care— what makes him _so_ important?”

“ _What_ did you say?” And Sakura felt defensive. This… this was her first time seeing Seiren broke down. She didn’t think— she hadn’t expected any of this. That her sorrow would be the cause of Seiren’s emotional collapse. 

“He’s _nothing!_ ” Sakura flinched at the deafening roar that was Seiren’s shout. “He’s just some _boy_ — and he shou—” She clutched at her chest. “—he shouldn’t matter so much to you,” It came out as a whisper.

Sakura frowned. She had long stopped crying, completely stunned by the outcome.

“Why do—” Seiren’s hands balled up into a fist. “—why do you think I agreed to graduate early?” The burning behind her eyes compounded. “S-so you didn’t have to be added into some insignificant Genin team! So they didn’t cast you _aside!_ ”

“W-what?”

“Did you even _think_ about it?” Seiren cracked out a laugh, it came out vicious and extremely wrong. “That I had to—” She bit her tongue briefly. “—to fucking force myself when I could’ve spent my time lazing around all those years with you and Hinata? And I had it all _sacrificed_ —” She panted. “—because I knew our friendship wouldn’t _last_ if I stayed.”

“It’s either me _or_ you, in Team Seven. The chances of them failing you were so fucking high, and I’m—” She halted, chasing for the accurate term. “— _scared._ ” Was what came out. 

“It wouldn’t have mattered that you’re way smarter and a top kunoichi in class, Hokage-sama _knew_ who’s far more suitable. And then—”

Seiren’s nails drew blood, sharp and unforgiving as they clawed on her own palms. Her words died out, she couldn’t bring herself to say _anything_ , anything to shove into Sakura’s skull and lock it up for good. 

“I’m sorry,” Sakura gradually murmured, and her apology broke Seiren even more. 

Sakura approached her slowly, drew closer when Seiren didn’t shy away. 

“Ren, I—” Sakura caressed the girl’s back, not once did it cease her tears. “I’m sorry—”

Seiren buried her face in Sakura’s shoulder. “Is—” She sniveled. “Is our… friendship that fragile to you?”

Sakura’s heart panged, thrumming mercilessly as she held her tighter. 

“Don’t _say_ that.”

Sakura dragged her into the bed— she didn’t even care about Seiren’s post-training state.

They’re both sobbing, disgusting mess anyway. 

* * *

“Sakura-chan is lucky,”

Seiren lifted an eyebrow, firm fingers which weren’t her own worked on a braid. The progress was too slow and she almost fell asleep many times.

“You’re plotting murder now?”

“No!—” Hinata ducked her head, embarrassed by the high pitched tone. “I wouldn’t, Sakura-chan is a friend.”

Seiren smirked. “You think I wouldn’t notice?” She pressed, inspecting her fresh trimmed nails. “Even back in the Academy, I could _smell_ your jealousy miles away.”

“That’s…”

“Not a single lie was told?”

“ _Seiren-chan,_ ” 

“Oh, sorry for being shameless.” She quipped.

Seiren lazed around Hinata’s room. She didn’t mind the indirect, occasional eyes checking up (spying) on them— she could _feel_ it. She stopped caring about it ages ago, even if it was fucking creepy. You’d think after years of being a regular they would eventually chill out, apparently an outsider was still an outsider. 

“How was the dinner?”

Seiren sighed. “It was okay. Food was great, but it was a nightmare.”

“Otou-sama told me The Uchiha are… um.”

“He _knows?_ ” Seiren paled, who _else_ knew? So that’s why Sakura found out— she’s so dumb. What now, the _entire_ village heard about it? Or what?

“There is news going around. It isn’t anything bizarre, but—” Hinata bit her lip. “People tend to talk—”

“— _gossip_.” Seiren corrected. 

“...that, but it’s nothing excessive. It won’t be long before someone, or something else caught their attention. Don’t stress over it.”

Seiren yawned, laying down almost immediately on the tatami mats. Turning on her side, careful with her braids. 

“I’ve been… thinking.”

Hinata fixed her gaze on her.

“Yes?”

Staring at her nails once more — and _wow_ , so clean and shiny — Seiren thought she should brief Hinata about one of her plans. 

“I mean, we’re all juridically adults right?” And when Hinata didn’t offer a reply, she carried forward. 

“What if I ruined my reputation to the point The Uchiha would stop deeming me worthy?”

Seiren didn’t even realize how stupid she sounded.

“I mean, your dad kinda has a soft spot on me right? I don’t know, or maybe he would prohibit me from visiting. That's gonna suck. But hey, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with them—”

“What—” Hinata started. “—are you saying?”

“I feel like losing my virginity wouldn’t do much damage,” She guessed. “Maybe if I slept around—”

“Wha…” Hinata mumbled, narrowing her eyes. " _No._ ”

“What?”

“That’s… you’re not thinking _clearly_.”

Seiren blinked.

“I’m not?”

“You’re not.” Hinata shook her head. “Not only would it hurt you, it would also— Seiren-chan, think about it. In a way, you’re… you’re not old enough.”

“That’s right,” Seiren sat back up. “I’m not. Should I just… break it to Sasuke that I’m not interested? I mean, he _wouldn’t_ cry right? I don’t think I could handle that.”

“End it on good terms, Seiren-chan.”

“Easy to say,” 

“I…” Hinata looked down. 

“I wouldn’t know how Sasuke-kun would react, but it’d be better if he heard it sooner. I'm afraid he might be under the wrong impression,”

Gently, Hinata grabbed Seiren’s hand, entangling their fingers together.

“Say it, before it’s too late.”

* * *

“Sasuke-chan locked himself up in his room.” Shisui told her after he appeared out of thin air.

Shit.

Seiren was _busy_ sparring with her clone — boy, her clone had gotten much more solid, she could actually toss it around carelessly — she didn’t have time for this.

She punched the clone— skewered it, as her hand drilled a hole in the face before it vanished. She narrowed her eyes, maybe her clones were still useless after all. “I’m sorry that I broke your cousin’s heart.” She brushed off the smoke left on her shirt.

“I've been waiting for it.”

Pause.

“I thought _you_ of all people supported it,” She teleported behind him, all set to swing her leg on the side of his neck. He caught it before it could land a damage, she didn’t even _see_ him turning to face her.

He twisted her leg, fuck. “It hurts—” As soon as she freed it, she drove it onto his face— which turned out to be a fucking log. 

He didn’t let her sense him, sending her _floating_ with a lovely kick on the back, and it ended with her crashing against a tree. 

KO.

“I thought you two would be a good match,” He cracked his fingers, and she cringed at the sound. Disgusting. “But you don’t like him, so what’s the point?”

“You’re saying all this when you used to be a number one supporter.” She leaned against the tree.

“Wrong. I joined the bandwagon for fun. Auntie Mikoto is _The_ number one,”

“She sure as hell hates me now.”

“Nah, she still thinks there’s hope. You two are barely adults— rationally speaking. What do children know about romance anyway?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “She’s probably scheming right now.”

“Haha,” She laughed wryly, face stoic and emotionless. “Can we go on a long-term mission tomorrow?”

He beamed. “Wow, a spirited kunoichi! I bet auntie would respect you even more!” He gave her a thumbs up. 

“Hey. You,” She spoke.

“Hmmm?”

“ **YOU CUNT.** ”

She left before she could listen to his dramatic gasps and lectures on her over usage of vulgar language.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, seiren is a little dumb. i apologize on her behalf. 
> 
> also, i'm REALLY REALLY happy by the feedbacks. keep doing it.
> 
> please. or i'll cry. sobs.


	4. Chapter 4

Seiren woke up by the sound of some asshole knocking furiously on her apartment door. She completely underestimated her position on the bed, proceeding to fall down with a thud, cliche, but it _hurted_. She assumed today wouldn’t be her day, what with the opening scene. 

She gathered all her shit together, driving her hand to open the door.

Her prediction wasn’t in the slightest false.

Sakura, all weeping and sniveling, threw herself at Seiren and Seiren just— _what,_ what the fuck happened? She couldn’t even provide comfort to ease the quivering mess in her arms. She just woke up, still confused as hell. It couldn’t be Sasuke again, she swore if it was him—

“My team is _disbanded!_ ”

That straight up brought Seiren’s consciousness back to its full extent. 

“What the hell did you say?”

“S-sasuke-kun threw a fit.” Sakura’s hand clutching on Seiren’s shirt. “He got mad because he thought Kakashi-sensei wasn’t taking him seriously.” Before she could bite her nails, Seiren put a stop to it.

“Then—” Sakura choked up again. “—t-then Sasuke-kun started attacking Kakashi-sensei, he just kept yelling and screaming—” 

It took a while. Seiren could barely comprehend it, how could she when it didn’t make sense? Sakura went on and on incoherently, and most of her words didn’t exactly reach Seiren’s head. Too much information, too much _nonsense_. Seiren was aware there were things that couldn’t stay the same, yet this one— she couldn’t accept it. 

“Sakura.” She called out her name, causing the girl to lift her head up.

“Do you know anything about Hatake-san?”

It was _her_ fault, and she should’ve paid attention to all the prominent figures— she didn’t even bother to memorize most of the criminals’ names on bingo book to save her life. She didn’t care, and she never learned her lessons.

Why didn't she read more again?

Sakura shook her head, and now it’s Seiren’s time to collect it herself. 

* * *

“—anyways, they're all so fucking angry there might be a _civil war_ soon. The clan ordered me to spare my time to teach Sasuke-chan. So for the next few days—”

“Hey, what do you know about Hatake Kakashi?”

Shisui gasped, stomped his feet like the child he was. “You don’t even care!” Pointed his finger at her.

“So what do you know about—”

He drove his hand close to her face. “Stop.” He begged, tone as dry as the daily weather in Suna. She smacked it away.

“Well? I’m waiting.”

“He’s too old for you—” He caught the three senbon darted toward his face. “ _Fine_ , I’ll explain it in the most digestible way possible. A one _certified_ asshole, would be the right way to describe him. I respect him, but man’s too… immoral.”

“Elaborate.”

Shisui glared. “Most are classified, but what you need to know for now is my entire clan _detest_ him. So imagine their fury when Hatake-senpai was assigned as Sasuke’s Jounin-sensei. All in all, the reason why they reluctantly approved was because no one else was suited for the position." Then he _blushed_ , rubbing his nose. "With me being the exception, of course, If things had been different, it would be you in Team Seven and I would be your—”

“Can you hurry up?”

Shisui tugged on his hair. “I had a cousin who died in a war, and he gave his eye to Hatake-senpai in the heat of a battle.”

“I mean, I know it’s hard to digest, but in a way it’s your cousin’s last wish right? They’re teammates after all. So what—”

“What are you talking about?” He lifted an eyebrow. 

“They weren’t teammates.”

She dropped her kunai. 

“Even if they were, they still wouldn’t accept it either way—”

“ ** _THEY WEREN’T TEAMMATES?_** ” She _howled_ , literally. Then she ran, spiraling like crazy around the training ground— _what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck_ WHAT THE FUCK— she _cried._

“ _SEIREN-CHAN!?_ ”

“SHUT UP—” She shrieked, banging her head against the tree trunk. “—HOLY SHIT.”

The event transformed into that of a literal pandemonium. With Shisui chasing after Seiren and she kept hiding in a tree and moved on to the next tree after he found her— until Shisui, literally, caught her for the last time and _yanked_ on her ponytail from behind when she tried to run away. 

“You _pest_ —” She twirled around, ignoring the pain in her scalp before he had to let go. “—dare to grab my hair!?” He didn’t quite expect— and he should’ve — her ruthless fist on his abdomen. The temporary loss of air was certainly expected.

He coughed, forcing himself to sit up— man, it’s hurting so bad. “And why the hell are you screaming about—”

“Don’t _think_ about it. I don’t even know what to think.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“What _doesn’t_ make sense is me having to chase you down—”

“I’m sorry! Okay? I was in _shock_ —”

“WHY.” 

“BECAUSE IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO—” She gasped, _running_ _away_ again. “ **NOOOOOOOOOO.** ”

It was an instant reflex to want to chase after her again, but when he tried to get up— he fucking lost his balance due to the immense pain. What an embarrassment. 

It got to the point where Seiren didn’t even know how to recover from the revelation because she wouldn't stop bolting, and Shisui had to force himself up, limp-running because she was his responsibility and therefore if she injured herself he would be troubled— he fell flat on his face. 

Then they were interrupted by four ANBU on patrol— he rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing bad, she’s just freaking out over some dumb—”

“IT’S NOT DUMB.”

“How about you _get over here_ first?” He called out, before signalling the ANBU to leave and they bowed— ah, so adorable. It felt nice to have a bunch of kouhai who actually respected him unlike _somebody_. 

He waited patiently until her dramatic episode died down, and when she came back her eyes were kinda red. Damn, what the fuck happened to her.

“Dude.” He raised an eyebrow at the label. “You can read minds right? _Read my fucking mind now._ ”

“...now you’re freaking me out.”

“Just do it— _damn_ , this is more complicated than I thought. I’m tired of hiding anymore, just do— and _hey_ , don’t look at me like I’m a spy. I am, NOT.”

He did as he was told, and now it was his turn to run for his life.

“I TOLD YOU.” She actually catched up and ran alongside him. “DAMN, I’m glad I got to open up—”

“—no wonder you’re dumb sometimes!” He exclaimed in the moment of realization, evading her kick. “You’re not actually— and you got reincar—” He got smacked on the back of his head.

“Don’t say it out loud.” She hissed. 

He stopped running. “Hey, but— shit, I’m actually— not real!?” He breathed, eyes all wide. “ _Literally_ , millions of people knew of me—”

“Yeah and you killed yourself, kinda sad.”

“ _Kinda!?_ ” He shrieked, he scratched his head. “Shit, I’m glad Hokage-sama already got rid of that bastard.”

“Oh, he’s GONE gone?” She asked, leaning her back against the tree. “Good riddance, now it makes sense why your clan still exists.”

He crouched, hands holding his head. “Poor cousins. I can’t believe they suffered like that— man, and I _killed_ myself.”

She exhaled the longest sigh ever, gotta be a world record. “Can you believe I actually cried watching you die? I _hate_ you, but don’t you dare die on my watch.”

His eyes _sparkled_. “Just say you love me, Seiren-chan.” And she immediately threw a kunai at him.

“ **NO**. I didn’t _say_ that. I hate you, you’re the reason why I hate waking up in the morning—”

“Sure.”

* * *

Today was Seiren’s free-training day.

“Seiren-san.” Itachi greeted. His foot fled to lodge itself between the door, refraining Seiren from shutting it close.

Today was also Seiren’s _worst_ day ever. 

“If it’s about your brother, go home.” He slipped a hand inside, and ended up forcing his entire body to let himself in.

“Wow, the Uchiha heir is so well-mannered.” Her glare was as biting as an obsidian knife, piercing Itachi’s flesh.

“Thank you.” He nodded.

“ _What_ do you want?”

He glanced sideways before meeting her eyes.

“Tea?”

“NO.”

He exhaled a hefty sigh. “I’m afraid this might take long.”

“ _I’m afraid_ I can’t entertain you.” She banged on the door. “You see this? Yeah, you leave through this object.”

“And come inside through it.” He argued, she had to resist the urge to laugh— he couldn’t be _serious_ , he had to be joking. He couldn’t be saying this shit around and expected people to take him seriously. Was he trolling? He definitely made a joke right there right?

He raised an eyebrow at the slight shake on her frame, her lips curling upward slightly. “...was it something I said?”

She held her stomach. “N-no, you’re fine.” 

He narrowed his eyes. 

“Well, take a seat— _wait_.” She came back to reality. “Why did I tell you to— please leave or I’ll cry.”

“I apologize for causing you trouble—”

“It’s not you, it’s your family.” She set her palm on her temple, massaging it. “I don’t want to play house with your brother, ever.”

“Then, I apologize on their behalf.”

“You’re not _fooling_ me. Why are you here?”

He made himself comfortable in her apartment and made himself tea— she couldn’t even stop him because she was THAT impressed by his boldness. The nerve.

“There are two matters.” He began, sitting down on her pastel pink tatami mat. She already guessed the _other_ issue. “I’m… concerned about Shisui last night.”

She froze. “He didn’t like… cry or anything like that right?”

According to Itachi, Shisui’s first act after seeing him was to _hug_ him in front of their clansmen and Shisui refused to let go until their relatives had to pry him off of the utterly puzzled man. ‘ _Dumb bitch._ ’ She hissed. That’s _too_ suspicious, he’s probably off praying to Kami and thanking him for not letting any of the drama happen. 

He asked her a question and she sighed, making her way to make a coffee. “I _can’t_ talk about it. If Shisui didn’t open up, then one day I’d tell you myself. Probably. It’s sort of a secret between us, for now.”

She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, fast like the wind, and went outside to turn off the stove. 

“Seiren-san,”

“Yes?”

“Is my brother not to your liking?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda dramatic???? it was supposed to be an angsty chapter, again, but then i said fuck it and changed my mind.


End file.
